Parliament gears up for a new normal

Every inch of usable space in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and the majestic Central Hall is being readied for the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament that will begin from September 14.

With 4-hour daily sittings, both the Houses are expected to work on Saturdays and Sundays as well. Vice President and Chairman of Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu, and Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla, are expected to visit the Parliament House complex on Tuesday and Wednesday to conduct dry runs for the session that will be the most technologically challenging one ever conducted in the history of Indian Parliament.

To maintain social distancing, Members of Parliament (MPS) will sit everywhere, from galleries to the Lok Sabha chambers. The 245-member Rajya Sabha will see 61 MPS seated in the House, and the rest in galleries, including the public gallery where normally visitors, who want to see how the Houses function, are accommodated.

Except the press gallery where only parliamentary reporters will be seated, all other spaces will be occupied by MPS. Some will even sit in the Lok Sabha.

When the Lok Sabha works, its 545 MPS will be distributed across its galleries, the Rajya Sabha, and the Central Hall. The galleries, located on the first floor in the Lok Sabha, is meant for diplomats, relatives and guests of MPS (the Distinguished Visitors’ Gallery, or DVG).

Four gigantic screens, which are interactive, have been erected in the galleries. “MPS will be heard and can speak without any difficulty. From the screens, every corner of the two Houses will be visible” a Rajya Sabha secretariat official said.

The Central Hall, where the Constitution was unveiled and came into effect in 1950; where India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru delivered the famous speech ‘Tryst with Destiny’; and where in current times, MPS, former MPS and ministers amble in or hold privileged conversations with journalists and order cheese sandwiches and masala dosas (these items have figured, with fond nostalgia, in most farewell speeches members have made at the end of their tenure), will be a bustling hive of activity from September 14.

Plexiglass screens are being screwed on, sanitiser dispensers are being put in place and the air-conditioning system is being cleaned thoroughly to make sure no Covid19 contamination is possible. The Central Hall will be treated as an extension of the Lok Sabha.

It is not merely seating that has to be considered. If an MP wants to make a speech, say in Santhali, or Tulu, simultaneous translation needs to be made available. This is expected to be linked remotely to translators who will be sitting elsewhere in the building. The same goes for verbatim recoding of speeches, in India’s equivalent of the Hansard. These speeches are crucial because they are part of the history.

Both Naidu and Birla are taking great pains to ensure that the Session runs smoothly, without any hitches.

Few days ago, Congress’s P Chidambaram (RS, Maharashtra) had implored the government to call off the Monsoon Session, citing health and infection concerns. If anything, this has only redoubled the determination of the two presiding officers to make sure the session is productive, the government gets everything done and there is no addition to Covid-19 statistics on account of the session.

The upcoming Session will see a lot of activity as 11 ordinances have to be passed, including, two that would cut the salaries of MPS and ministers by 30 per cent on account of the ongoing coronavirus. Several Bills have to be passed; controversial issues will be taken up, including the one involving news reports about how Facebook has become a factor in Indian elections. Hundred per cent productivity is expected in both Houses.